The corruption scandal rocking Kano State has taken a new turn as the Commissioner for Community and Rural Development, Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, has reportedly admitted authorising the payment of N1.17 billion for a contract that never existed while serving as the state’s Accountant General, Premium Times reports.
Mr Abdulsalam made the confession during interrogation by officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), who are investigating a suspected N6.5 billion fraud and money laundering scheme.
Documents obtained by Premium Times showed that in November 2023, the commissioner approved the questionable payment in connivance with the Director-General of Protocol to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, Abdullahi Rogo.
The ICPC said the fraudulent transaction was facilitated through fabricated “letters of authority” purportedly issued by A.Y. Mai Kifi Oil and Gas Ltd. and Ammas Petroleum Company Ltd. However, the managing directors of both firms disowned the contracts, saying they signed the documents on the instruction of the former Accountant General.
Investigators revealed that on November 9, 2023, the N1.17 billion was drawn from Kano State’s Federation Account Allocation and transferred to bureau de change operators, Gali Muhammad of Kazo Nazo and Nasiru Adamu of Namu Nakune. Mr Muhammad later handed over $1 million in cash to Mr Rogo at the Kano Liaison Office in Asokoro, Abuja.
Although Abdulsalam admitted to authorising the transaction, he reportedly could not explain why the money was channelled through bureau de change firms. He also declined to respond to calls and messages seeking clarification.
The ICPC has since recovered N1.1 billion of the diverted funds, while broader investigations into the N6.5 billion scandal continue. Investigators believe Mr Rogo masterminded the fraud by moving public funds through front companies, bureau de change outlets and private accounts. So far, the ICPC has traced and recovered about N1.3 billion linked to him.
Despite the mounting evidence, the Kano State Government has continued to defend its officials, dismissing reports of the scandal as “falsehoods” sponsored by political enemies to tarnish Governor Yusuf’s administration. It insisted that all financial transactions were budgeted for and properly documented, denying that any official had access to state funds outside approved purposes.
The government, in turn, accused the opposition of financial recklessness, alleging that more than N20 billion was withdrawn through the Protocol Directorate between February and May 2023 under the previous administration of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje after the APC lost power to the NNPP.
Corruption allegations are not new in Kano, as successive administrations have been trailed by scandals. In 2018, a viral video showed Mr Ganduje allegedly collecting dollar kickbacks from contractors, which he denied. His administration was also accused of land grabbing and illegal acquisition of public assets.
Similarly, Ganduje’s predecessor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is facing EFCC investigation over the alleged diversion of about N10 billion in pension funds into a housing scheme between 2011 and 2015, an allegation he has also denied.
Former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau was equally tried alongside Aminu Wali and Mansur Ahmed on a money laundering case involving N950 million allegedly linked to former Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke during the 2015 elections. Though the trio pleaded not guilty, the case was eventually abandoned by the EFCC, effectively ending the trial.